I wore Coros and Garmin's sub-$300 sports watches - both are excellent, but one lasts longer

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Smartwatches used to cater to larger wrists -- especially rugged models. Today, however, there are a lot more options. Garmin and Coros are two brands with compelling lightweight sports watches with brilliant AMOLED displays, heart rate sensors, powerful smartphone companion applications, and advanced training metrics.

Unlike traditional smartwatches from Apple, Google, and Samsung, the Garmin Forerunner 170 and Coros Pace 4 have more than twice the battery life of a standard smartwatch -- requiring a charge about once a week. Both Garmin and Coros also offer full website access to your data, so you don't have to rely on viewing trends, creating workouts, and evaluating reports in the app.

Also: The best smartwatches of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

I've been biking, walking, hiking, rowing, and living with these two watches for the past few weeks -- and although they're too small for my wrists for long-term wear, I found a lot to like with both.

Even though the Garmin Forerunner 170 is a small watch, it still sports the traditional five-button configuration seen on nearly all Garmin watches. This means that you can move around the watch interface using just the buttons and not the touchscreen, which is important if you run in inclement weather (or sweat a lot).